You've got to be careful in a lot of South American cities. I was just in Caracas, Venezuela and several nearby villages and it was definitely a bit sketchy. You just don't walk around at night there, according to our local friends and guides, who were showing us around. The taxi service the hotel provided was outfitted with bullet proof glass, and the drivers wouldn't let us open the windows at night "for our own safety" nor would they stop at red lights. Nevertheless, we had a great time, and I don't mean to talk shit. Not too much shit, at least.

I tend to be overly cautious, and hyper-vigilant when traveling in sketchy areas in the US, and abroad. I suppose it mostly stems from living in Los Angeles (then Vegas), and witnessing a lot of random acts of violence growing up; from having a gun pointed at my head, and in the mouths of others while bullets were flying, and seeing my friend dragged, and thrown in a backseat of a car, and raped, to working in environments where violence is witnessed almost on a daily basis. That being said, the victims in this case were either very brave to travel like that, or somewhat naive. What a horrendous ordeal! Wish them the best in their recovery.

I have been to several third world countries. Most of them in Africa, a few in eastern Europe. Standard procedure is to go nowhere without either a respected local member of the region/community representing you and guiding you, or large numbers of well armed folks. This may not be the case everywhere, but it was certainly the case in the majority of less developed and impoverished nations I have been to.

I have quite a few friends here in Vegas who are from third world, and impoverished countries, and they are super cautious, and even somewhat paranoid when traveling "back home." Some even feel the need to hire armed bodyguards. My Nigerian friend says she careful to not even speak while taking a taxi to her village, as there's big risk of kidnapping for ransom, and it can be detected in her accent that she's lived in the US (10 years), and may have money. Her friend will do all the talking when out, and about until she's safe in her family's compound. That's just one example of many stories some of my foreign born friends tell me. I'm sure chances are nothing will happen, but it doesn't hurt to minimize the risks, no matter where you are. Desperate folks can do desperate things, and there's no doubt, political unrest in many of these countries. But to each their own..